The Choices We Make
by NeverJudgeABookByItsMovie
Summary: When the world is saved and the flock are all together, what happens then? Summary sucks because I hate summaries. All in Fang's POV. Fax, of course.
1. Chapter 1

G'day, my happy fans and just-tuning-in readers! I decided to write this, not because I wanted to, but because I had to, simply to see where it would go.

Seriously. It was driving me crazy. And I had to get it out before Fang (the book) came out, because I was afraid it wouldn't make sense after it came out, because the summary says Max is gonna leave Fang for some random dude and Fang is gonna die and if that's true then I really will cry. I know Dylan is supposed to be her "other half," but seriously, who really wants someone who's perfect for them? When has anyone ever fallen in love with someone who was just like them?!?! No one, that's who!!!

But I digress.

The chapters are kinda short, to stay true to the books' format. So, enjoy!!

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Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story, except for Jerry. But he comes later in the story. I do, however, wish I could own Fang. But really, who doesn't wish that?

"_Happy birthday to you_," we all sang as Max sat, red faced, in front of a bright birthday cake. "_Happy birthday to you. Happy bi-irthday dear Ma-ax, happy birthday to yoooooooooouuuu!"_

The last word nearly made my ears bleed. Gazzy sung in a high opera voice, Iggy basically screamed it, and Akila and her litter of puppies all let out a long, earsplitting howl. Despite this (or perhaps because of it) Max laughed. Her laugh sent a shiver of warmth through my body and I couldn't help but smile.

"Make a wish, Max," Angel instructed.

Max glanced at me, then closed her eyes as if she were concentrating hard. Then, she blew out all sixteen candles.

Everyone clapped and cheered. Akila jumped up on Max's lap and licked her face, making Max jump up to avoid her tongue.

"I can't believe it! My baby, already sixteen!" Dr. Martinez cried, wrapping Max in a hug.

"Yeah, I know," Max replied, slapping Gazzy's hand away from the cake.

"I remember when I was sixteen," Dr. Martinez said nostalgically.

"Here we go," muttered Ella, Max's half sister.

"I got my first car," she remembered.

"Why drive when you can fly?" Max asked, slapping Iggy's hand, that was feeling around on the table for the cake.

"My parents finally let me date."

Max looked at me and blushed. "I've already been on dates," she said.

"And I finally didn't have a curfew."

Max, Iggy and I all laughed at this. "Like we ever pay attention to those, anyways," Ig said, feeling around for the cake. "I want cake," he complained.

Max slapped his hand again. "I can tell."

"I'll get plates and forks," Dr. Martinez said.

When she left, I went over to Max and wrapped an arm around her waist. She put her head on my shoulder and said, "I don't feel sixteen. In fact, I feel like I did five years ago."

I pushed her out to arm's length and looked at her slim, almost six feet tall body, then her beautiful face, and finally her deep chocolate eyes. "You don't _look _like you did five years ago," I said.

She pushed my chest playfully.

"She looks exactly the same to me," Iggy said with a straight face. This, of course, was funny, since he was blind.

Max just rolled her eyes.

Then Nudge, our little chatterbox, said excitedly, "Ooh, Max, you should let me give you a makeover!"

Max looked around, trying to find a way to distract her from the idea. Just then, Dr. Martinez came in with plates and forks. "Who wants cake?" Max asked with a little too much enthusiasm.

"Finally!" Iggy shouted.

"Max gets the first piece, anyways," Ella said.

"What?!" Iggy and Gazzy both whined.

"The birthday person always gets the first piece," Angel explained.

"Why?" asked Gazzy.

"It's a tradition," she said.

"Why?" Max asked. "You can't wait ten seconds for a piece?"

"_You _can't wait ten seconds?" Iggy retorted.

"I don't have to," Max said. "I'm the birthday girl."

"You don't even know that it's your birthday!" Iggy shouted.

Max looked like she was about to slap him when her mom handed her a plate with a huge piece of cake on it. She looked at it, muttered "Thanks," and walked into the living room.

"You can't stop arguing for ten minutes?" I snapped at Iggy.

"God, Fang, all I asked for was a piece of effing cake!" Iggy screamed.

"Here!" Ella screamed, placing a plate in front of him on the table.

"Thank you!" Iggy yelled back.

"Stop yelling!" Max yelled from the living room.

It was quiet for a few second. "I need a fork," Iggy said, breaking the silence.

Ella picked one up and handed it to him. Dr. Martinez, who was quietly cutting the huge cake the whole time, handed everybody else a piece.

I took my piece and went in the living room, sitting on the couch next to Max. She pretended not to see me, eating her cake and watching a show about sharks instead of acknowledging me.

"Are you mad?" I asked her.

She ate another bite of cake, ignoring me.

"So is that a yes?"

"Do you know that sharks have thousands of teeth?" she asked innocently.

I sighed and set my piece of cake, untouched, on the coffee table. "Why are you mad?" I asked.

She just ate another bite of cake, ignoring me. So I proceeded as nicely as possible.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" I asked, snatching away her cake.

"Hey!" she cried. "I was eating that!"

I put the cake next to mine on the table. "You should be happy today."

She crossed her arms over her chest. "I am happy."

"No you're not. You're mad."

"So?"

"So, you just said you were happy."

"I'm both," she said, grabbing the remote off the table, one arm still crossed over her chest.

"You can't be both," I argued.

"Watch me."

I quickly yanked the remote from her and turned the TV off. She stared at me in surprise for a moment before jumping at me, trying to grab it back.

We wrestled on the couch for a while before I pinned her beneath me, tickling her sides.

As tough as Max is, you wouldn't think that she was ticklish. But tickle her sides, and she cries like a four year old left in the dark without a nightlight.

"Stop!" she giggled as tears rolled down her cheeks. She was gasping for air. "Fang, stop! I can't breathe!"

I stopped tickling her. "Will you tell me why you're mad?" I asked.

"I'm not," she insisted. I started tickling her again, so she squealed, "Okay! Okay, fine, I'll tell you." I stopped. "It's not that I'm mad, really, it's just…" she scrunched up her face, looking for the right words. Then she sighed. "Do you ever miss it?" she asked.

"You being mad?" I teased. "I don't think anybody ever does."

"No, I meant when we were on the run. Y'know, the freedom. The wide blue skies. That feeling of independence."

"The paranoia. The dirt. The fights to the death." I sighed sarcastically, "Good times."

"Seriously, Fang."

"No," I answered, staring into her eyes. "I don't. I've got everything I want right here: a home, safety, a family…. And we have each other, Max."

"I just feel so useless just sitting around all day, not doing anything," she complained.

"Well, get used to it, because you're not going anywhere."

I lowered my lips to hers and kissed her. She put her arms around my neck and deepened the kiss.

We were happily off in our own little world when Iggy came and sat down on the other end of the couch, right on our feet.

"Do you mind?" Max growled.

"That you're taking up all the couch space? Nah, I don't mind. Your feet are actually pretty comfortable."

Max and I both yanked our feet from out under him and sat up, me in the middle.

Since glaring at Iggy never worked-- him being blind, and all-- I did the next best thing and punched him in the arm.

"Ow!" he complained. "What was that for?"

"You're almost smart," I told him. "You'll figure it out." Then I wrapped my arms around Max and pulled her onto my lap, grabbing the remote to turn the TV back on.

"Dude," Iggy said, shaking his head, "bros before hoes."

Max snorted, but didn't slap him like she did when he first started saying it. She just snuggled up closer to me and watched TV.


	2. Chapter 2

Warning: The following chapter contains adult content and should not be read by children under the age of 13. Nyeh, who am I kidding? Kids are older these days. Go ahead and read it! (It's not a lemon, just a _luuurve _scene.)

**Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. I do own a pair of wings, but for some reason, costume wings don't fly that well…**

That night, Max and I did what we did nearly every other night: we went up to her bedroom to hang out.

Of course, we also made out a little, but what more do you expect from teenagers? It's not like we really _did_ anything, because not only was it Dr. Martinez's house and she was in it, there was also three other kids with super hearing and no respect for privacy and a mind reading eight year old (also with super hearing) in the same house.

You see, we're not your normal kids. We were genetically modified to be stronger, faster, and more freakish than your average human. Our family, aka The Flock, isn't really a family. Except for Ella and Dr. Martinez, everyone in the house was made in a lab to be 98% human and 2% avian.

It doesn't sound like much, but that little 2% gave us our superpowers, plus an awesome pair of wings. Angel and Gazzy are the only two actually related, and you can tell. We look totally different. But when those other five people are the only ones you can trust, you learn to look past those little differences.

And when you look past those little differences, you see a group of kids who are seriously weird and don't mind just walking in on you when you're trying to make out with your girlfriend.

Talk about a buzz kill.

That night however, there was something different. Max's lips were more urgent, more forceful. We were both on our sides, facing each other in her bed, when she suddenly hitched her leg over my hip.

On instinct, I grabbed onto her thigh. Then, when I realized what had just happened, I froze. I tried to pull back, to see her face so I knew she wasn't freaking out, but she just pulled me closer.

But the thing that really got me was when she ground her hips into mine. I automatically put my hands on her hips, pulling her closer, making her moan into my mouth.

At that point, my brain shorted out entirely. The only thing I knew was how she made me feel and the fact that our hands were _everywhere_.

I rolled over on top of her, grinding my hips into hers again. Her legs wrapped around my hips, pulling me even closer. My lips left her mouth, only to go down her neck and back up again. I gently nipped her in a couple of spots, making her gasp.

I had a hand up her shirt, seriously tempted to yank the thin piece of fabric off, when I heard footsteps outside the door. I quickly rolled off of her and pulled my hand out of it's incriminating position. Luckily, the person at the door was Dr. Martinez, who always knocked before coming in. "Guys, it's time to go to bed."

"Okay, mom," Max said in a shaky voice.

When I realized what we just did, how close we were to taking our relationship to the next level, I jumped off the bed. "G'night," I mumbled, practically running out the door.

I went to my room and plopped down on my bed, replaying the scenes over and over--her lips beneath mine, her skin soft under my fingers, her soft moans-- until finally I fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning, I went downstairs after I showered and everything, and saw Max sitting at the kitchen table with the rest of the flock, eating a bagel. She looked like she barely had any sleep and she was still in her nightclothes.

"Max, we need to talk," I told her.

"So talk," she said, looking up at me. "I'm listening."

"Somewhere else," I said, looking at the flock, who were staring at us.

"Why?" she asked. "Do you have something to say that you can't say in front of everyone else?"

It was then that I noticed the irritation in her eyes. She was mad, but at what, I had no clue. "Yes," I said. "I do. And I would appreciate it if you would come with me."

"I need to finish my bagel."

"So do you want me to talk about last night right here?" I asked impatiently.

She tensed. "I don't think we need to talk about last night at all," she said, throwing her bagel on the table and going upstairs quickly.

"Max," I called after her, ready to go up there.

"Don't follow her," Angel said. "She wants to be alone. You really made her mad last night. What did you do?"

I wanted to talk to someone about it, but eight year old Angel was not the right person. "I didn't do anything."

"Obviously you did," said Nudge, who I also couldn't talk to because she was only thirteen and just got her first boyfriend two weeks ago.

I just shook my head and went outside to go fly around. Flying usually helps me calm down and think about stuff.

Like why Max was mad. It made no sense. I didn't do anything wrong. In fact, I was the one trying to make sure things didn't go any further.

Sort of.

I flew around for about half an hour before I went back home. Iggy was waiting for me on the roof, so I landed beside him and sat down.

"Trouble in paradise?" He asked.

"Don't start," I said, trying to catch my breath.

"Man, it's serious, isn't it?" He actually looked concerned.

"Sort of."

"You didn't pressure her for sex or anything, did you?" he asked. "'Cause if you did, I'd have to punch you."

"Why?" I asked. "She's not saying that, is she?"

"No. But Angel says she feels rejected, and if you told her something like you would leave her if she didn't give it up, I will kill you." Iggy looked serious about that.

"She feels rejected?"

Iggy nodded. "That's what Angel says."

"Oh, man." I put my face in my hands.

"So do I have to hurt you?" Iggy asked, balling his hands into fists.

"I didn't pressure her for sex, Ig. Get real."

"Then why is Max crying?"

My head snapped up. Max never cries. "She's crying?"

He nodded. I went to stand up, but he grabbed my shirt and pulled me back down. "What happened yesterday?" he asked.

I sighed. "We were in her room, and we were just making out, like usual," I told him. "Then she goes and wraps her legs around me and I was on top of her, but then her mom came upstairs, and…. I don't know, Ig. I sort of panicked. I left her room and went to bed. That's all."

"So she was pressuring you, not the other way around."

"Yeah, basically," I said.

"Oh. Okay then."

"It's not funny," I snapped, seeing that he was holding back a laugh.

"Of course it's not," he snickered.

I clenched my jaw, but of course he couldn't see that. "Screw you, Iggy."

"No," he laughed. "I'll leave that to Max."

I punched him in the face and jumped off the roof. I heard him curse as I went inside. "Where's Max?" I asked Gazzy, who was sitting on the couch.

"In her room," he murmured. "Angel and Nudge are in there with her."

"Thanks," I said. I walked towards the hallway, but Gazzy stopped me as I passed him.

"What happened?"

I looked at him. "Honestly, it's between me and her."

"But it affects the whole flock," he argued.

"But you guys can't fix it."

"If you guys break up again, I'm staying with her," he whispered as I walked away.

I looked back. "We're not breaking up again," I told him.

"Just letting you know," he said.

"Okay." Then I went to go see Max.


	4. Chapter 4

.......I didn't like Fang. It made me cry. I'm continuing with my story. *SPOILER ALERT FOR FANG* I don't get it. Why would he just leave her like that? I hate him now. (Not really. But it sounded good.)

**Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. But I do have Iggy locked up in my closet at home. He already tried to blow it up with a hanger and some Pepto Bismol. Good thing I have fire insurance...**

* * *

I stopped right outside her bedroom door. Through it, I could hear Max crying loudly.

"Fang is here," Angel said.

"Go away!" Max screamed.

"He wants to talk," Angel told her.

"I don't care," said Max. "I don't want to talk to him."

"Max, you two need to talk," Nudge insisted.

"Especially since you're keeping this from everyone else," said Angel.

_I know what's going on,_ Angel told me in my head. _It's not your fault_.

_Angel? Not really helping_, I thought back. I started to open the door.

_Not a good idea,_ Angel warned, and I had just enough time to close the door before a heavy book thunked against the other side.

"Max!" I heard Nudge exclaim.

"_I don't want to talk to him," _she said again.

"Don't talk then; just listen to me," I pleaded.

"I don't want to."

"Too bad," Nudge said. A second later, the door opened. "Good luck," she said to me before walking off, Angel on her heels.

I peeked around the door cautiously, in case Max decided to try to kill me with literature again. Instead of jumping up angrily like I expected, she was sitting on the bed with her knees up to her chest and her arms wrapped tightly around them, staring off into space.

"Max? I asked.

"Bastard," she replied.

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

She looked at me and replied, "You. That's what's wrong. You act like you don't want to touch me at all anymore!"

I resisted the urge to gape in surprise-- I was good at not showing emotions that way. "I'm sorry. Were you not there last night when your mom almost came in with my hand up your shirt?"

"Yeah, I was there last night. I was there when you rushed out of my room like you never wanted to see me again. When you acted like you had to get away from me as fast as you could."

"Max," I said slowly. "My hand was up your shirt. Your mom almost walked in. I was _on top of you, _for Pete's sake!"

"And you act like it was the biggest mistake you ever made!"

I took a deep breath. I thought of my words carefully. "I don't think we should've done it. Not because I don't want to; actually, I'd love to. But because of where it would lead."

Max looked away.

"I think we should talk about it," I suggested.

"What are we doing now? Discussing politics?" she asked sarcastically.

"Can you be serious about this?" I snapped.

She looked back at me. "You want the honest truth? You made me feel like crap when you just ran out like that. I let myself go for once, totally vulnerable, and you just leave without looking back. It's obvious you don't want me. So just leave." She wiped away tears that had been falling while she was talking.

I stayed quiet for a while, then said, "If I didn't want you, would I be here now?"

"Just go."

I walked over to her and gave her a hug.

Normally, I'm not a huggy person. But around Max, I change. Instead of sitting in a corner sulking, I actually stand around and talk sometimes. She makes me want to show my emotions more.

She didn't do anything at first, but then she wrapped her arms around me and hugged me tightly. I pulled back slightly to kiss her forehead. "I love you," I whispered against her skin.

"I love you too," she said.

I kissed her lips gently. Just then, the door flew open and Iggy came in. "You two kiss and make up yet?" he asked, flopping down on the bed.

"You know, you could've just ruined a very serious moment," said Max.

"Every serious moment needs a little comedy. That's where I come in." He pulled out a bag of M&Ms from his pocket and emptied it into his mouth. "Besides," he said around the chocolate, "Angel said you guys were fine."

"Of course she did," Max said.

"You guys are okay, right?" he asked.

"Yeah, Ig," I said. "We're fine."

I looked over at the love of my life and knew that while I had her, I'd always be okay.


	5. Chapter 5

The next day, I took Max on a date. You'd think that when you've been together for nearly two years, you'd go on tons of dates, but between Max and her "save the world" thing and Angel and her "I'm a better leader" thing (long story. Read the other books if you're confused.) we haven't really had time. And the ones we did have, they were interrupted by evil guys.

But the world was pretty stable at the moment, Angel hasn't tried to take over in about six months, and we haven't been attacked in a year.

So tonight, I was taking her out to dinner and a movie. Just like normal kids, even though we were anything but.

Afterwards, since we were still all in one piece, we went for a walk in the park.

"Fang?" Max said.

"Yeah?"

"What's on your mind?"

"How beautiful you look tonight." It was true. She had dressed up tonight, in a nice, untorn, non-bloody t-shirt. Her hair glistened in waves down her back and I wanted to reach up and run my hands through it, but I was afraid she'd punch me if I did.

"Seriously," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Seriously."

She smiled a little half-smile and turned her head, trying to hide the blush on her cheeks. "You don't look too bad yourself," she said mockingly.

I grabbed her waist and pulled her to me, our lips crashing together. She was surprised at first, but returned my kisses eagerly. Our kisses were hungry, pure lust and teenage hormones.

She pulled back, gasping for air.

"I love you," I whispered.

"I love you too," she said back, just as quietly. Then she looked over my shoulder and blushed again. "I guess we should go."

I looked behind me to see what she was looking at and saw an old couple, looking at us in surprise. I nodded. "But let's not go home yet."

"Where do you want to go?"

I shrugged.

"Fine by me." So we took off into the cool night sky.

Soon we came to a little cave, away from all civilization. We started a small fire and laid down, just listening to each other's breathing. Soon, her breathing became even and when I looked down, I saw that she was sleeping. I sat there for a few minutes, just watching her sleep. I thought of all the precious moments I had with this girl. Half of them were us fighting bad guys. But I didn't mind.

As I brushed a stray piece of hair from her face, her eyelids fluttered open.

"What're you doin'?" she mumbled tiredly.

"Nothing," I answered.

She rubbed her eyes and sat up. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to fall asleep." She chuckled. "Some date I am, huh?"

I kissed her forehead in a wordless compliment.

"I guess we should be getting back," she said reluctantly.

"Hmm," I said. I started kissing her neck.

"Fang, I'm serious," she said, even as her head dropped back in pleasure. Max loved her neck kissed.

I kissed up and gently nipped the skin under her jaw. She moaned, which made my kisses get more urgent. She finally pulled back and brought my lips to hers. The kisses were the same as earlier, filled with lust. Only we were alone this time, and when Max realized this, she pushed me onto the cave floor.

Her hand went under my shirt, trying to take it off. I gladly helped her. She sat back and I watched in awe as she pulled her shirt off, revealing her beautiful body.

I rolled us over to were I was on top of her, most of my weight supported by my elbows. Our stomachs touched, and the warmth was driving me crazy.

Max gently dragged her fingers down my chest, making me shiver. But when she came to my jeans and tried to unbutton them, I stopped her.

"Max, stop."

"But I want this," she said breathlessly. Looking at her eyes, filled with lust fueled by love, it was all I could do to not give in. But I reluctantly rolled off of her and slipped on my shirt.

"Not here," I told a sulky looking Max. "I don't want your first time to be in some crappy cave. You deserve better."

I held out her shirt, fully expecting to get yelled at like last time. Instead, her eyes filled with tears and she reached out and hugged me.

"I love you so much," she whispered.

I wrapped my arms around her. "I love you too. I would do anything for you, Max."

We sat there for another few moments before putting out the fire and heading home.


	6. Chapter 6

Hey, peeps. Slight story change... Nudge has had no boyfriend. Just because.

**Disclaimer: Though I don't own the rights to Maximum Ride, I am James Patterson's secret wife's ex husbands cousin-in-law... Just sayin.**

* * *

"I've got an announcement to make," Nudge said the next morning as she stood in the doorway of the kitchen. We all looked up from our breakfast, except the Gasman. He was going through an apathetic phase.

"Well?" Dr. Martinez asked.

Nudge smiled. "I have a date."

Gazzy choked on his sausage as Angel squealed.

"What?" Gazzy asked as Angel interrogated her, "With who? What are you wearing? Where are you going?" Then, "Oh!" she exclaimed as she simply read her mind. She clapped her hands together as only an over-excited eight year old can.

Iggy had to slap Gazzy on the back a few times before a hunk of sausage flew out of his mouth, hitting Max in the face from across the table.

"Eew! Gazzy! That's disgusting!" She shrieked.

"Sorry," he choked out.

Angel turned to glare at her brother. "Why do you think it's so funny?"

He frowned. "Get out of my head," he complained.

Him and Angel continued to communicate silently as the rest of us talked to Nudge. "We get to meet him, right?" Max asked.

Nudge smiled. "Of course."

"What's his name?" I asked.

"His name is Brandon. He's wonderful, and I know you guys will love him. We met when we had to get paired up for science class and he was really shy at first but then we got to talking and-"

"Does he know about us?" Iggy interrupted.

"No, of course not," she answered. "I've already decided I need to be with the guy for a long time and really trust him before that."

"At least that means she won't have sex anytime soon," Ella mumbled. We all turned to face her. "What? Dating can lead to sex." She looked at me and Max as if to prove a point. Max blushed and looked down. "Sex means getting naked. Nakedness will show the wings."

"She better not have sex any time soon," Dr. Martinez said. She's only thirteen." Then she glared at me and said, "_Nobody_ should be having sex _at all_ under my roof."

_Why is it always the guy who gets blamed?_ I thought as Iggy snickered. I tried to look as innocent as possible as I asked, "So if it's not under your roof, it's okay?"

Max gasped and kicked me under the table. Dr. Martinez tried to look stern, but a smile showed through. She really trusted us.

"No," she answered. "It is not okay."

"Nudge'll be fine," Iggy said. "If a guy gets too handsy, me and Fang will just beat his ass." He looked in my direction and held up a hand. I gave him a high five as Nudge snorted.

"Like I'd ever tell you two," she said.

"You don't have to," Iggy replied. "We have Angel."

"And who's side do you think Angel's on?" she retorted as she fixed herself a plate. "Did she tell you when I got my first kiss? No. She-" Nudge seemed to just realize what she said and turned red under her mocha skin.

Suddenly it hit me. Our little Nudge was growing up. She had always been almost like a daughter to me my whole life. And now she would be going off, dating, falling in love…

Max reached over and grabbed my hand. Looking at her, I knew she felt the same way I did. I also realized, just as she did, that we couldn't do anything about it.

I looked back up at Nudge, who was glowing with happiness as she blushed. Soon, we would have to be scaring guys off left and right, I realized. _When did she get beautiful?_ I asked myself. At only thirteen, she was already tall and super skinny, like we all were. Her skin was blemish free and, since she'd been taking care of it lately, her hair fell down her back in ringlets not unlike Angel's. I couldn't help but notice how, even in her loose nightgown, her curves showed, **(AN: has anyone read the graphic novel version? She did NOT look like an eleven year old.) **and how feminine her features were. She looked like a young model. How did I miss the fact that she was growing up?

Iggy smiled. "So we already have to beat him up? Awesome."

I took a sip of my milk before pointing out, "Ig, he's only thirteen. You can't beat him up."

"And don't be mad at him just because you can't get yourself a girlfriend," Max said.

Nudge sat down at the table. "Where have you two been? He makes out with some blonde chick every day after school."

Iggy's jaw dropped. "How- I mean… When did-?"

"Dude, you guys are so freakin' obvious about it," she said as Total and his kids came in. "Frankly, I'm tired of seeing your tongue down her throat every day."

"Woah!" Total exclaimed. "This is not a conversation for tiny ears."

Total, Akila's mate-or husband, since they did get married two years ago- was an experiment Angel rescued about three years ago, and was very protective of his first litter of eight puppies.

"Can they even understand us?" Gazzy asked.

"Of course," he replied. His chest puffed out with pride as he said, "Carmen said her first word this morning."

"Which one is that?" Gazzy asked. "They all look the same to me."

"They are _not_ the same!" Angel cried as Total growled. "They're totally different! You just don't know them well enough." She scooped one of the black furballs off the floor and set it in her lap. "And they're not _furballs_!" she screeched.

_Oops_ I thought. _Sorry_.

"Hey, Carmen, baby," she cooed. "Did you learn to speak?"

In a strange, growling voice, the puppy said, "Max."

We all stared at Max, who looked surprised. The puppy looked over at her and wagged its tail. Angel smiled and set her on Max's lap, where she jumped up and licked her face eagerly. Max laughed and said, "Oh, I remember. This is the runt of the litter who I bottle fed because the other puppies were taking all the food?"

Total growled, "My daughter is not a runt!"

"Total," Angel reminded him, "'runt' is the technical term for the smallest of the litter."

He still glared at Max. "Fine," he grumbled. He walked over to Angel's seat and said, "Anything good left?"

She got up and fixed a small plate for him, setting it on the floor and shooing away the puppies trying to steal the food. Total sighed. "That'll do, I guess."

"It better," Max grumbled. "Just be glad we're not making you eat dog food." She then rubbed the puppy's ear and cooed, "Right, puppy?"

Carmen barked and licked her face again.

"Don't encourage her," Total scolded his daughter. Carmen paid him no mind as she rubbed against Max.

"You like me better, don't you?" Max asked Carmen. The joy on her face made me smile.

"Well, we found the one we're gonna keep, I guess," Iggy said.

"What?" Total asked, snapping his head up.

"Total, you didn't really think we could keep all of them, did you?" Angel inquired.

"But… No. No! You're not gonna take away my babies!" Total cried.

Angel kneeled down on the floor. "Total, even humans have to give up their babies sometime."

"Then give me eighteen years! Just don't take them so soon!" He started hyperventilating.

"We don't even know if they'll live that long, Total. Most dogs don't," she soothed.

"You're not only going to give me a few months with my babies and take them away, are you? You monsters!"

Nobody knew what to say. Most dogs didn't really care when their puppies left. Then again, Total wasn't most dogs. We all sat still, since Angel would be the only one who could talk to him and calm him down.

"No, not a few months. Maybe a year?"

A tear ran down his face. "Only a year?"

"Total, what did you expect?" Dr. Martinez asked gently. "Canines mature much more quickly than humans. They leave sooner."

Total sniffled. "Okay. When they're mature, I guess." He then left the room, leaving his hungry children to finish his plate.

"Wow. He took that hard," I observed.

"Wouldn't you? They're his kids," Nudge said. "It's hard to lose something you love."

I looked over at Max to see her looking at me. I didn't know what it was like to be a father, but I knew what it was to love someone, and what it's like to lose them. I made a promise to myself that I would help Total keep his babies for as long as possible.

The puppy in Max's arms nipped her finger as she barked, "Max!" Then seven other furballs surrounded her, all barking, "Max! Max!"

Iggy laughed and said, "Good luck with all that."


	7. Chapter 7

Okay. So I realize it's been a while. I'm not even sure if people still read this. But I'm not making any excuses. I'm just gonna give you the next chapter. Next one will be up soon. I promise this time.

Avertissement: Je ne possède cette histoire. Revenons à l'anglais.

"Okay. Three, two one!" Angel counted, then motioned Nudge down the stairs.

The usually overfashionable Nudge went back to the classics, wearing a simple black dress with a dark purple half jacket and black ballet flats. Her hair was pulled up in an elegant twist, with a few curls framing her face. Her light makeup made her face glow, especially when she smiled and asked, "So? What do you guys think?"

The Gasman was speechless as he looked up at her. His draw dropped slightly, and he stuttered, "You… you look…"

Ig took a bite of his candy bar, and said around the chocolate, "Whoo! You look beautiful! Can I go now? I don't know why I had to come in the first place."

"Angel?" I requested. She then gave a mental image of Nudge to Iggy.

His jaw dropped. "No. Go change. What the hell? It's a first date, not a cocktail party. Go put on some more clothes."

She seemed surprised. "I like what I'm wearing. It looks good."

"Yeah," replied Ig, "And Bobby will think the same thing."

"Brandon," Nudge corrected.

"That's what I said. Brian. He'll get these ideas in his head. Whatever happened to jeans and a tee shirt?"

Her face went red. "I'll wear whatever the hell I want!" She stomped down the stairs and bumped into Iggy as she passed. Angel was right on her heels, glaring at Iggy as she passed. Max reached around me to slap him in the head.

"She looks good," Max scolded. "It covers everything it needs to. Don't be the overprotective dad type."

"Well, _someone_ has to," he argued, staring evilly in my direction.

"A good parent knows when to let their baby fly," I said.

"Spoken like a true parent," Dr. Martinez said, impressed. "You'll make a good dad when the time comes." She looked pointedly between me and Max. "Which won't be for a _very_ long time."

"Yeah, yeah," Max said, pulling me into the kitchen. "No premarital sex. It's bad, bad, bad. I get it."

As we walked in, Carmen looked up from her food bowl. "Bad!" she barked. Max held her arms open, inviting her to come over. She scooped her up off the floor and cuddled her to her chest.

"That's right, baby," Max praised. "Sex is bad."

"Sex!" Carmen barked.

I laughed at Max's startled expression. "That'll be fun to explain to Total," I said, walking over to a chair.

"No, Carmen," she said, holding the puppy to her face. "That's not a good word."

"Sex, sex, sex!" she said happily.

Max groaned and walked over to me, sitting on my lap. "This right here is why I would make a terrible mother."

I wrapped my arms around her. "There are four examples in the living room, proving that wrong."

She smirked. "I raised you, too. You don't count yourself?"

"Hmm. If you were my mom, this would be kind of creepy," I said as I pulled her lips down to mine.

"That's true," she whispered before putting her lips back on mine.

Carmen interrupted us, jumping up and licking Max's face. She giggled and pet Carmen, rubbing her ears.

"And _you, _you little furball," I said affectionately, patting her head, "is why I'm not having kids anytime soon. Too many interruptions."

Carmen playfully growled and nipped my finger. Max laughed at her, but quickly stopped when she once again barked, "Sex!"

"Shit," Max muttered.

"Shit!" Carmen repeated.

Max's face was priceless. I had no choice but to laugh and say, "It's Angel all over again."

When Angel was young, she didn't really have parental units. So Max stood in as one. She would follow her around for hours, copying her every movement. And since she could also read Max's thoughts, she had learned to censor those along with her language.

"Oh, god," she moaned as I patted her hand soothingly. "I'll never hear the end of this."

I shrugged and wrapped my arms around her again. She sighed and leaned against me. "So, what do you think?"

"Hmm?" I asked.

"About Nudge," she replied. "And this boy."

I thought for a second. "Not as bad as yours."

She blushed. "Yeah. I kind of regret that now."

My eyebrows went up.

"Oh, come on. Hardly anyone only dates one person their entire life." She shrugged. "I had to play the field a little, make sure I made the right decision picking you."

"Hmm," I replied. I pulled her closer. "And?"

She smiled. "I believe I did."

"Good," I replied. "Because if some other guy goes on a date with you, I'll just kill him."

She laughed. "That's not nice."

"Bad!" Carmen barked.

"Right," Max said, kissing the top of her head. "Bad."

"Shit!" she said loudly.

Max slapped her forehead as I chuckled. She set Carmen on the ground, grabbed my hand, and said, "Lets go."

"Where?" I asked.

"Far, far away from Total," she replied.

I smiled at her paranoia, but as we left the house, we heard Total shout, "What did you say?"


	8. Chapter 8

To Kelsey: Thanks for the criticism. But take no offense when I say I don't feel lucky that you're reading this. Read it or don't, I don't write for fans. I write for my entertainment. So yes, I will keep writing. And if people don't want to read my stories, that's their choice.

Thanks to the people who liked it, though. I'll try keeping up with it more often.

**Disclaimer: My name is James Patterson and I own the world! Not really... but it sounded nice.**

We landed back at the house about an hour later, just in time to see a car driving down our long driveway. We ran onto the porch and quickly pulled our wings in tightly before the car came into view.

A professional woman came out of the driver's side, wearing a dark blue suit and looking hurried. When she glanced up at me and Max, confusion crossed her face.

"You must have the wrong address," she said to a young boy with short black hair getting out of the passenger's seat.

"No, Ma," he answered. "This is right."

She looked pointedly up at us. "They don't look much like they'd be related to the girl in the picture you showed me."

I looked over at Max, who raised her brows, seeming to say, she knows we can hear her, right?

I shrugged my shoulders slightly as I crossed my arms over my chest.

The young boy, seeming to realize we could, walked around the front of the car, closer to his mom. He said something, softly so that the only audible word was "adopted."

She seemed to understand, then blushed as she looked up to watch us listening. The boy turned around, rolling his eyes, and walked up to us.

"Hello," he said with a smile. "I'm Brandon." He held his hand out to me to shake. Mine stayed crossed.

His smile faltered as Max shook his hand instead. "Don't mind Fang," she said. "He's antisocial."

His mom walked up to us and also held her hand out to Max. "Hello, I'm Juliet Norman. Brandon's mom. Are you Nudge's mother?"

Max, surprised, shook her head. "Her sister, actually. I'm 16." She pointed to me. "This is one of her brothers." She stepped to the side. "Our mom is inside," she invited.

Juliet was the one who looked surprised then. "Sorry, you look older. I thought…" she apologized, then said, "Actually, I have to go. Brandon said your mother offered to drive them to the restaurant, and I thought I would have time to meet her, but this meeting was rescheduled, and I can't miss it, and it's all a big mess."

"Okay," Max said. "I'm sure she won't mind."

"Thank you," Juliet said, walking back to the car. Opening the door, she told her son, "Call me when you're ready to come home."

He waved to her as she drove off, then turned to us. "I'm sorry about my mom. She doesn't listen very well," he said.

I nodded, and said, "Try talking to her." I pointed my finger at Max.

She glared. "You stay quiet all the time, but you never do pass a chance to insult me, do you?"

I smirked as Gazzy walked outside. "It's a talent."

"This is the guy Nudge is dating?" he asked, looking at the small teenager in front of him. "Kind of scrawny, isn't he?"

I fought the urge to smile as Max snapped, "Gaz! Mind your manners!"

He tried to look ashamed, but failed miserably. Max rolled her eyes and pushed past him to go into the house. I motioned for Brandon to follow her. Gazzy stood protectively in the doorway for a second, blocking him, before walking inside also.

"Nudge!" he shouted. "Your boy toy is here."

"Gazzy," Max warned, "if you don't-"

"Hey! Brady's here!" Iggy enthusiastically said as he came into the room.

"Brandon," he corrected.

"Right," Iggy agreed. "So, Billy, where are you taking our little Nudge?"

"To Tony's pizza and then to a movie," he replied, ignoring the mistake.

"Hmm," Ig replied. He leaned down and said quietly, "Gaz, what's he wearing?"

"A blue dress-up shirt and black pants with black tennis shoes," The Gasman replied.

"You guys are pretty dressed up for pizza and a movie," Iggy noticed.

Brandon shrugged. "I dress up for things I consider important."

Iggy stood there, trying to think of a comeback. He was still thinking as Nudge came down the stairs. Brandon looked at her awe and said, "You look beautiful."

She smiled bashfully and said, "You don't look too bad yourself."

As he grabbed her hand, I briefly considered yanking her away. She was too young. She shouldn't be dating, she should be out playing with Barbie dolls or something. She should-

My thoughts were interrupted when Max's hand forced its way into mine. She gave me a small smile, letting me know that she felt the same way.

"Come on," she whispered. "Let's go."

I let her lead me into the backyard, where we sat on a bench. She rested her head on my shoulder and said, "Seems like just yesterday we were out saving the world."

I nodded. "Time flies."

She laughed. "Is that a bird-kid joke?"

I kissed her forehead. "The truth," I answered.

She wrapped her arm around my waist and pulled herself closer. After a while, she said, "It's not too bad, I guess."

I smirked. "But what about when Angel grows up?"

She stiffened. "Angel's not allowed to grow up. I won't let her."

I laughed quietly. "So. Brandon?"

"He seems nice. At least he doesn't act like an evil maniac."

I nodded. Then a thought came. "You wanna-"

"Follow them and spy?" Max finished. "Sounds like a plan."


End file.
